Remember: Coffee Break is full of odds and ends I’d like to discuss including films I’m watching, links I like, stuff I’m into and oh yeah, coffee!
So, I’ve missed coffee break for a little while now because I’ve been battling this monster cold/sinus infection illness. I had planned to write one up last Friday but then sickness hit and guess what? I haven’t even had a cup a coffee in a week! It’s not as scary as it sounds so don’t worry but it has been a drag.
Today I enjoyed my first cup of joe since contamination. The mug is from a local ice cream shop called By the Scoop. They had mugs on display to buy for only $4 (a steal!) so I snatched one. The girl behind the counter was shocked and said I was the first person to ever buy one. Glad I could help.
I think this section will be best explored by working backwards.
Last night, NBC aired it’s final episode of Community. I’m a huge fan of the show but I have sort of just settled in with the sad truth that season four wasn’t going to be the same without show creator Dan Harmon at the helm. It wasn’t all bad. You could tell that the writers gave it a community college try but the magic of previous seasons wasn’t shining through. This season ended with an amalgamation of various Community fan-favorite moments. I appreciated the nods and thought the episode was fun but I wasn’t left with any bubbling excitement or contentment or surprise. I take solace in the fact that season three had a truly great wrap up for the series, even though the show continued onward.
I continue my television kick with another NBC show, Hannibal. Along with Bate’s Motel, I was a littled annoyed when I heard about a TV show being produced from an old existing property. I mean, I get it from a financial point of view but it bothers me how lazy it comes across. I ended up giving Hannibal a viewing after a few interesting remarks I saw scattered around my Twitter feed and I’m glad I did. The pilot for the show really struck a cord with me. It was surprisingly violent (especially for a network show) and I enjoyed the perspective of the main character Will. I’m all caught up with the series (except for last night’s episode) and I’m on board so far. Kind of surprisingly, I don’t care much for the character of Hannibal. He’s interesting, but I find myself a lot more concerned about what will happen to Will. I also wonder how long the series would be able to run/where the story will go. I’ll certainly stick it out til the season is over to see what bloody path it takes.
The last screening I attended was for the much anticipated Iron Man 3. I gotta say, I loved it! Lots of fun action, hilarious Tony Stark lines and more awesome Pepper Potts. It was a solid finale to the trilogy and did a nice job bringing Tony Stark’s arch to a close. The only low point of the film was Rebecca Hall’s character Maya Hansen, who turned out to be mostly useless. A small shame considering how great Hall is an actress. Other than a few small blips though, I was entertained with the film from start to finish. I hope the next Avengers movie can keep it up.
Spring Breakers Anthem by Lonely Island: Where you been boys? I love what Lonely Island does and usually look forward to each video they put out. Their last song “Yolo” wasn’t 100% so I’m glad they stepped it up with this next single. If you haven’t already, you gotta check out the song, which is sandwiched in and episode of “Between Two Ferns” (double the hilariousness.) The last two lines sell the whole thing – I’ve been singing “CRUSHING SOME PUSSY / MARRY A MAN” for two days now and it’s completely inappropriate and ‘unladylike’ and fucking awesome.
Hemlock Grove: Even more TV! I was all like “oh damn really?” when I heard about the negativity surrounding Eli Roth’s new made for Netflix joint but I couldn’t act too surprised because the trailers for the show were less than appealing. Something about “it gets real gory” was mentioned again on Twitter and I guess that was enough for me to at least give the series a chance. Two episodes in, I didn’t really see where all that negativity was coming from. It’s no House of Cards in terms of acting or script but it was far from bad and pretty entertaining. So on my first sick day I went through a slew of episodes and was hooked. I just finished up the series last night and I would feel dishonest if I said anything other than I loved it. I’ll reiterate, it wouldn’t win any awards or revolutionize anything but it’s a fun mystery that had a lot of diverting plot lines and characters. I’m truly surprised I liked the series as much as I did because on face value, almost nothing about the story line appeals to me. There’s werewolves and possible magic and a mutant sister and gypsies and a lot of kooky shit happening. But HG won me over by doing two things I always clamor for in a mystery-based TV Show (1) It answered most/enough of the show’s big questions to keep me satiated and (2) it wasn’t afraid to kill off or play with major characters. I wouldn’t dream to spoil anything about the show so I won’t say more. If you feel so inclined, Hemlock Grove might just be up your alley.
Documentaries: Another sick day discovery came in the form of a few Instant Watch documentaries. First up was Girl Model, a doc that sheds light on some of the disturbing issues of the modeling industry, particularly the side of the business that works with very young girls. A lot of fuckupness going on in the doc and even more is alluded to. You feel terrible for the young girls the movie follows as they struggle to understand anything that is happening to them at an age when they shouldn’t be forced to do so. It’s a brisk film and worth a look if the subject matter interests you.
The other doc I’d like to quickly mention is the Keanu Reeves film Side by Side. Reeves brings together a slew of notable directors, cinematographers and others in the business to discuss both the art form and transition of digital vs. photochemical film. It was fascinating to hear all the different artists and technicians opinions on the matter and their insights on the artform. Side By Side would make a great watch for anyone interested film and it’s a well made documentary to boot.
Look at those cuties. That’s a photo of Jess, Jason and Nick that I snapped while we were visiting the greatest theater ever: The Alamo Drafthouse. No, we didn’t venture all the way to Austin, Texas to see the original theater (although I’d love to some day) but we did drive a couple of hours to Virginia to hit up ths one. See, the Alamo is like a Mecca for movie lovers. Instead of concessions they have a full service bar and kitchen that will serve you a meal right to your theater. Also, in addition to showing all the new releases, The Alamo screens a collection of various older films every month for different theme nights. We went for the Clue Quote-a-Long which was an interactive experience where the audience quoted dialogue, popped confetti poppers and yelled various phrases along with the film. It was basically the greatest day of my life. It was a little depressing having to leave the theater knowing that it would be a while until we were able to go again. If there is an Alamo Drafthouse theater near you, I HIGHLY suggest going. It’s a movie lovers dream.
GET OFF MY CASE MOTHERFUCKER!
Goddamn it, I love Fast Times. Fun fact, one of our features on FTS is named after a Fast Times at Ridgemont High quote. Anyone know it?